Self care is important for personal growth and development for a number of reasons. It helps us feel better physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and socially. When we practice self care, we can relieve stress, focus on cultivating joy, remain present, and build positive habits.
By focusing on ourselves, we can show up as our best self in the world.
Here’s Why it’s Important to Prioritize Self-care, and How To Make it Happen
It’s easy to forget that we’re human beings who need to take care of ourselves. We often put other people before ourselves, and that’s not healthy.
In fact, research shows that when people feel stressed out, they tend to become less compassionate toward others. There is a lot of research being done on self care but the end results always show that self care is at the core of mental health.
We should be practicing self care daily if we can.
Why Prioritize Self-Care?
Self Care is focusing on the peace, mental health, and well being of the self. It’s being in a state where you are present, you are not comparing yourself to others and you are putting your attention into activities that will benefit yourself. But why you might ask?
By focusing on yourself, you can show up as the best version of yourself at work, in your home, and in the world.
To spend time on yourself is not selfish – it’s actually the opposite! If you are constantly giving your energy to other people without recharging your battery, your energy will run out.
You’ll actually be able to show up as the best version of yourself if you take time to focus on you.
How to Create a Self Care Routine
One of the most important things about a self care routine is setting up one that works for you. Don’t look at Instagram and follow someone else’s self care routine. Think about you – what do you like to do, what makes you feel refreshed, what makes you happy?
Before scheduling a Self Care Sunday, you might want to take an inventory of what type of self care you like and what self care you Need.
If you need help creating a routine, we have a free priority planner here.
The 7 Types of Self Care
Before you run to the nail salon and book a flight to Bali, make sure that you’re getting the type of self care you need. Below we outline the different types of self care and ideas to practice them.
Physical Self Care
Physical Self Care is one that most people love. This can be a simple walk outside, a hug from a friend, a yoga class, stretching, or getting enough sleep.
Physical Self Care reminds us to take care of our bodies, it allows us to celebrate our bodies and helps us to be in the best shape to live a great life.
Healthy habits such as eating good foods also fall into this category. By focusing on our body, we can lay the foundation for a healthy life.
Mental/Emotional Self Care
Just as important as Physical self care, Mental Self Care is another important pillar when creating a self care routine. Think about how often you have positive or negative thoughts during the day. Your mood and mental health drive your activities and behaviors during the day.
What are some things you can do to work on your mental self care? We love journalling, positive self talk, reading a book, or saying positive affirmations.
Spiritual Self Care
Spiritual Self Care can help us feel connected while feeling like we have a life of purpose. Spirituality may be embraced by some through religion or practiced by self-reflection, meditation, and prayer. You do not have to be religious to practice Spiritual Self Care.
By practicing gratitude, saying 3 things a day that you’re thankful for, you’ll be able to show yourself some spiritual self care.
Social Self Care
Social Self Care is being surrounded by the ones we love – family, friends, others. This type of self care helps us fill our cup by allowing us to build strong relationships with people who love us.
If you need a few ideas for social self care, we love – grabbing a cup of coffee with a friend, setting up a movie night, going to a girl’s weekend, taking your spouse on a date, or attending a meet-up group.
Practical Self Care
Practical Self Care sometimes seems like chores but it’s much more than that. It’s getting through your to-do list, prioritizing your schedule, and ensuring the basics are getting done.
Even something like laundry would be practical self care. Some ideas are: prioritizing your to-do list, cleaning the house, and making doctor’s appointments.
Professional Self Care
Professional Self Care is spending time on activities to grow your career and advance your skillset. This means you might set goals, follow a career that you’re passionate about, and build relationships at work that set you up for success.
If you follow a career you love, you are more likely to do your best work.
Financial Self Care
This is one that some might not even think of but it’s incredibly important. Setting yourself up for success in this department might include – saving, budgeting, investing, and living within your means. We love a good weekend splurge but this focus will set you up for success in the long-run.
By focusing on financial self care, you can budget for things like flowers, massages, and date night.
Fun Ways and Ideas to Add Self Care to Your Routine
Hopefully a few of those self care ideas sparked your interest. Now you might be asking – how do I add these to my routine? Below are a few tips that we love:
- If you are incredibly busy, add 1-2 self care activities into your week
- Start with something that you’re excited about. If you love podcasts, start with a quick 15 min episode
- Share your routine with your friends and family. If you let them know your intentions, it’s more likely you’ll follow through
- Schedule self care time. If it’s a full blown self care Sunday or a 5 minute walk outside, set yourself up for success by scheduling self care time
- Be kind to yourself. Sometimes starting a new routine can be stressful
- Continue to try out new self care ideas and then figure out what works for you
- If you’re stumped, check out our list of 111 ideas here
- Try to dip into all self care categories
- Figure out what works for you – if you need to do a self care challenge, do it! If you need to have self care Sundays with a friend, schedule it
Final Thoughts
A little “Me” time is always important if you want to be the best version of yourself. Self care is not selfish, self care is absolutely necessary. Hopefully you liked this post and you also believe that self care is important for personal growth.
Let us know how you’ll add self care to your routine!